Monday, May 28, 2012

From Dam Native, 1996. Watch out for a quick shot of Tha Feelstyle in the middle of this, at 1.50, with Dei Hamo beside him. Looks like a shot from the video for Walls of Steel by Ermehn, with the Feelstyle guesting, from memory. And the closing sample is BDP.

More on the story of why Tha Feelstyle appears on 5000ways. A commenter says "If you look closely, you can see us shooting the Ermhen video in the background and if you look closely in Ermhen’s Walls Of Steel video, you can see Rongotai [Lomas] shooting this video for DN. Rongotai had taken a space in the Lister Building near Kaiun and we co-ordinated to shoot both videos on the same day. This kind of thing also occurs in some other videos as well re: Phil Fuemana and Herman."

Friday, May 25, 2012

Youngblood Brass Band edit... from Nathaniel Compton, who says "I've been listening to these guys since 2001, and never found a decent edit for DJs. Try to find a way to fit this funky number in one of your sets."

Thursday, May 24, 2012

" Next week the public will be able to discover new, unreleased New Zealand music on an exciting new level, not seen in NZ before.

All will be unveiled next Thursday 31st May at 8am. This socially interactive music website specifically focuses on songs that have not been commercially released, and supporting up-and-coming NZ artists.

Theaudience will create a central point for new and emerging artists to showcase their music and to connect and communicate directly with new fans.

And for fans of new NZ music, it will be an exciting and easy way for you to discover fresh local music, and support artists in a really exciting way.

If you are a musician and reading this, you should be involved! Email ren@theaudience.co.nz for more information."

Teremoana Rapley is a former member of Upper Hutt Posse, and Moana and the Moahunters. She currently collaborates with her partner, King Kapisi. This interview is from Pavement magazine, Dec 1995/Jan 1996, by Andrew Mann.

I take a seat in BMG Music's boardroom. I'm here to talk with Teremoana about her latest single, Four Women, an appetiser for a February album that will include tracks produced by Spearhead's Michael Franti and Babble's Allanah Currie and Tom Bailey. Teremoana enters with two large cups of Milo - three spoonfuls of Milo and a little bit of milk. I notice her interview schedule on the table.

"They ask you the same stink questions. 'What does this song mean to you? Why did you choose this song?' I don't know why I chose it. I like it, okay, and it's nothing more than that."

Four Women, a Nina Simone original, is a moving piece that explores the struggles of four Afro-American women. Teremoana describes the lyrics as "quite hardcore'' but tells me that it doesn't stop her from relating to them. She mentions the second verse: 'Between two worlds I do along, My father was rich and white, forced my mother late one night, What do they call me?'

“I can relate to that but not in such a violent manner. My father's white and my mother's Cook Island Maori. It wasn't a fairytale relationship. What happened was, a whole bunch of bankers in the 70's went to the Cook Islands. The thing was for all these Pakeha men to go over there and find a Cook Island woman to cook and clean up after them. So that was my mother and father's relationship, and that's why my parent aren't together anymore."

Her history has left Teremoana mindful of the importance of knowing your roots and not being ashamed of them. "I was brought up in a white neighbourhood and I thought I was white until I was seven. I had a little afro but everyone around me was white. So I thought I was white until some kid at school called me a sambo and then a whole lot of kids came around and called me nigger, sambo, blah blah blah.

“I started balling my eyes out. I went home, waited for my father to come home, said 'Dad, all these kids called me a nigger. But I'm white like you, aren't I?' And he's going, 'Actually honey, you're black but it's not a bad thing. It's actually a good thing. Don't worry about people like that'. I'm like, 'Keep on doing those speeches, Dad'.''

Only in accepting and understanding one's past, says Teremoana, can a person move on to a brighter future. ''I'm not bitter. I just want things to live, to move forward. I just want to come out as an artist.'' And for an artist whose soul is so closely linked to the realities of life, Teremoana's music is a beautiful blend of passion and pain - the essence of true art itself.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

The Music Month Summit features a wide range of seminars where top industry experts explain the intricacies and behind the scenes facets of the NZ Music Industry. The NZ Music Month Summit is open to the public and entry is free.

The NZ Music Month Summit, Saturday 26th of May, Q Theatre, 305 Queen Street (Just up from the Town Hall), Auckland

SEMINAR 0110.00am to 11.00am - HOW TO & ..do it the Indie Way (sponsored by NZ On Air)
An artist development talk on how artists and bands can take control of their music and releases themselves. This session will guide you through the funding processes, how to release and distribute your products and will also give you tips, tools and ideas to enable you to leverage your music through promotions, marketing and on line avenues.

SEMINAR 0211.30am - 12.30pm - HOW TO.... create a live career (sponsored by the NZ Music Commission)

How do I get on that festival? How can I create a sell out show or tour? What are bookers looking for? How do I make my live touring profitable?
All these questions and more are answered by a panel of experts in the live world.

APRA presents Songwriter Speaks: An informal discussion between two APRA members. The charismatic Julia Deans will be interviewed by music reporter andSupergroove member Nick Atkinson to provide invaluable insights into the art of song writing and composing for developing music creators.

From fronting Fur Patrol's pop-rock to her electro-pop stylings with Tiki Taane; from co-conspirator with supergroup The Adults to sultry chanteuse with theChristchurch Symphony Orchestra, Julia Deans' diverse voice is seasoned. Aided by the interviewing prowess of Nick Atkinson, these experienced musicians will lift the lid on the secrets of song writing.

SEMINAR 043.00pm - 4.00pm - HOW TO.... find a manager or how to manage your own band

Wanted: someone to manage my band. Must be contactable 24/7, have excellent long haul driving skills, ability to maintain two conversations at once (one on phone, one face to face), have basic relationship counselling skills, immediate start. Little pay. Inevitable tinnitus.

Our team of expert managers discuss what is a healthy model for artist management, where is the time best spent, should you be more concerned about what you aren't doing, than what you are? How do some of the most effective managers and self managed artists use their time.

Kimbra in NYT -A New Zealand Star Greets US Fans in Person, from the New York Times, This story was picked up locally, and ended up with this headline: Kimbra could be 'the new Prince'.
The article quotes Rob Cavallo, chairman of Warner Brothers Records, saying "Kimbra's a real artist, and I envision her having a 15-to-20-year career. She has the potential to be like Prince. That's how strong her musicality is." Which isn't him saying she could be the new Prince. Slight misinterpretation, there.

The NYT article notes that "In November [last year] the label put her together with three proven American producers: Mike Elizondo, Greg Kurstin and Mark Foster, who also is the frontman of Foster the People. The United States release will have six new songs. "

Via Twitter from Simon Grigg, who says "Why did Spotify take so long to get to NZ? Blame ARIA in OZ (NZ was ready ages ago)" Read more here: Kate Vale and Renee Chambers explain why they waiting so long to launch Spotify, while ARIA's Dan Rosen explains what it means for the charts.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Via Jamaica Gleaner... "Popular dancehall artiste Busy Signal, whose real name is Glendale Gordon, was picked up at the Norman Manley International Airport immediately after he stepped off a flight from the United Kingdom.

"The extradition warrant was executed on him," an officer told The Gleaner last night [Monday].

The Gleaner understands that the entertainer was returning from a tour in Amsterdam. His arrest came months after The Gleaner broke the story that a prominent entertainer was under the radar of the United States and was to be extradited.

According to one of the law-enforcement officers who spoke with The Gleaner yesterday, 'Busy' as he is affectionately called, has been on the run since 2002. Allegations are that he was implicated in a narcotics offence committed in Minnesota.

"He is to be extradited for failing to appear before the court to answer charges in relation to that offence," argued the law-enforcement officer, who was among the team which escorted him from the airport late yesterday evening..."

The Shihad documentary Beautiful Machine opened nationwide last Thursday. I saw film industry type Ant Timpson (48 Hour film challenge/Incredible Film Fest) comment on it via social media earlier today, noting it was on 50 screens and had an average of 5 people per screening... which suggests maybeit should have been a film festival entry, rather than a mainstream release...

Ant says "... Where are all the Shihad fans? Your fave band's doc BEAUTIFUL MACHINE is tanking at the box office! $450 per/screen average! $25k on 50 screens. That's like 5 people per session. And the western GOOD FOR NOTHING which garnered lots of coverage & good reviews.. has barely trotted to $140k.... Want to lose all your money? Just make a film for the NZ market. Time to think global. Why would you ever release theatrically in NZ any more. Homevid is dead so why bother with a local theatrical profile? There are better ways to help your movie. "

Via Digital Music News... " Award-winning, former LA Times journalist Chuck Phillips was ousted from a Brooklyn courtroom last week, the latest chapter in a long-running fued involving James Rosemond, aka 'Jimmy Henchman'.

Rosemond was recently caught trafficking cocaine through Universal Music Group headquarters in Santa Monica, but that's just one of several major trafficking charges.

Phillips was removed after being named as a witness; as a tough investigatory reporter, Phillips unearthed important research related to the deaths of Tupac and Biggie before the Times fired him on highly-controversial grounds.

Two great mixes of Adrian Sherwood's productions, first one is "the first half of a three hour mix by JD Twitch. This half "focuses on his more electronic wild side (Tackhead, Fats Comet, Keith LeBlanc etc.)" while the second half is dedicated to his dub work with the likes of Creation Rebel."

"... In my late teens and early 20s, Adrian Sherwood's work impacted on me more than anything I had previously heard and made me think about sonic possibilities in a completely new way. I would buy any record he had been involved with unheard and got into a lot of other artists purely because he had been involved with making their records. ... I hadn't listened to a lot of these records for many, many years and fell in love with them all over again while putting this together. It was a complete labour of love to do and a revelation to hear how fresh and wild this music still sounds."

There's a definite thread in New Zealand music that owes a ton to Adrian Sherwood and his On-U stable, from the likes of Pitch Black and Salmonella Dub, to Unitone Hifi and Fat Freddys Drop. Go check this out. Hat tip to Russ B for the links

"It would be interesting to know whether the supposed vinyl revival is resulting in an increase in the sale of record players and styluses, or are the cool kids actually downloading the tracks to their iPhones and then just staring at the black plastic lovingly in a “wow, remember the days of vinyl; no, actually I was born in 1994″ kind of way.

Budweiser is running ‘vinyl adverts’ in various Brazilian magazines which, if you tear out the page and plonk it on your record player, will play Will.i.am’s new song ‘Great Times’...."

Warning: this clip contains musical traces of Black Eyed Peas. Exposure may make you infertile/impotent/insane/incredibly ill. Watch at your own risk.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

There's a great interview done by NZ's Stinky Jim with John Lydon over on The Listener's website, read the long version here. Well worth a read. Short version in the latest Listener, plus Jah Wobble on his and fellow ex-PiL member Keith Levene’s Metal Box in Dub concerts. Lydon also touches on that in his interview. Here's Lydon talking abut the new PiL album...

SJ: The rustic charms of the Cotswolds seems an unlikely location for recording a PiL album.

Lydon: It is, isn’t it? It’s actually financially based, I must tell ya. It was the cheapest one we could find. It’s actually a barn owned by Stevie Winwood, in the middle of sheep country… oh hello, New Zealand lamb. And you know it worked out to be perfect because the engineer there – a bloke called Jim, actually – was great. He understood everything I’ve been saying about music for ages, that we’ve all been saying… if you just set the microphones up right and let us get on with it, let us rehearse, jam and record, you’ll get a good record and you don’t need an elaborate, over the top studio for that. Most of the songs are recorded in a live format.

at the end of the interview, Lydon quizzes Jim on some local culture...

Lydon: Why on Air New Zealand do they play all that New Zealand reggae?

SJ: Oh, it’s awful, isn’t it?

Lydon: Aaaaaagh, what is that about? It’s so pony copy!

SJ: We’ve got a name for it here, which is BBQ reggae, as that is all it’s really good for, and it sums up the absence of any militancy or edge. It’s really, really, really grim.

Lydon: They call it dub, it’s not even dub; they call it “Dub Reggae Party from New Zealand’s Finest”! Do you know, I’ve got a name for it – Dobbins. As in Dobbin the Donkey.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the AirNZ show Lydon is referring to is High Noon Tea, a version of my KiwiFM radio show which still plays on Air NZ's inflight audio. Hehe.

"[23 year old] Camarie Bentley walked into a Fort Lauderdale record store this dreary afternoon, head nodding to Michael Jackson’s Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough, streaming from iPod to headphones...

A daughter of the digital age, Bentley only discovered the joy of vinyl a year or so ago... She had an uncle’s turntable at home, so the journey back to the analog era was just a matter of finding a favorite artist’s 12-inch. And then, among the crates of albums. she found Jackson’s Thriller, its iconic cover featuring the star lounging in a dapper white suit and black shirt.

“I listened to that album and that was it. I love that you can hear everything on an album. Somehow you feel like you are listening to the real thing,” says Bentley, who is military-bound and makes regular trips to Radio-Active Records in Fort Lauderdale in search of albums by the Dazz Band, Heatwave and Stevie Wonder. “Sometimes I feel like I was born in the wrong decade.”

The Miami Art Museum is hosting an exhibit with nearly 100 works celebrating the record. The Record: Contemporary Art and Vinyl, open through June 10, explores the LP within the context and history of contemporary art, using sculptures, drawings, paintings, photos and videos..."

It's surprisingly simple to write a vinyl comeback story, here's how you do it in 4 easy steps...

The vinyl comeback story that writes itself

1. Find a young person to say something 'cool' about vinyl.

2. Quote some statistic on the increase in vinyl sales with absolutely no context for what that means for overall sales for the music industry

3. Find a handy local record shop with a crusty old owner who can talk about the joys of LPs and the tangible experience you don't get with MP3s. Also, get them to describe their clientele and how young they are these days.

4. Highlight that it' s not just vintage vinyl that is undergoing a resurgence, but new vinyl is being released too, from 'modern artists' like Adele and Justin Beiber.

AND YOU'RE DONE. Nice way to cover 'a passing fad', as one acquaintance put it recently.....

"An early fan of gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, Summer sang in a Boston rock band called Crow in the late 1960s, and left home for New York City at age 18 to find work on Broadway, which she did quickly by landing a role in a touring version of the hot Broadway show “Hair.”

She spent the next three years living and touring in Europe. There she met and married the singer Helmut Sommer, whose last name she adapted as her stage name.

While in Europe she also met Italian music producer Giorgio Moroder, whose early dance tracks were making an impact across Europe. Moroder and Summer started working together, resulting in their first hit, the seductive 17-minute-long dance floor epic “Love to Love You Baby.” A shortened version of it was released by then-hot label Casablanca in 1975, and peaked on the Billboard singles chart at No. 2.

That was the first of a string of songs that not only helped bring disco to the mainstream, but predicted the rise of both techno and house music. Among those were “I Feel Love,” “Bad Girls,” “She Works Hard for the Money” and “On the Radio.”

Soon after, Summer became a born-again Christian and faced controversy when she was accused of making anti-gay comments in relation to the AIDS epidemic. Summer denied making the comments but was the target of a boycott."

Please join us at the AF HQ for a discussion around the topic of NZ Music Month! The panelists include:

Kiran Dass, Duncan Greive and Joseph Nunweek. This discussion will be moderated by Gareth Shute.

“What' When' Why' Who' Me''” are all questions that commonly race through our brains as NZ Music Month envelops us every May. Founded in 2000, the yearly event is now an iconic national institution – but is this brand awareness coming at a price' What's been achieved' Who's being promoted, and to whom' Please join our esteemed panelists as they shine a light through the fog.

Kiran Dass is an Auckland based writer and reviewer who has written about music, film and books for the NZ Listener, Sunday Star-Times, Metro, Landfall, Real Groove, Rip it Up, NZ Musician, NZ Herald, Dominion Post, No, Pavement and Staple.

Duncan Greive is a journalist who has written extensively about music for magazines and websites including Metro, Sunday, The NZ Herald, Volume, The Corner. He edited youth pop culture magazine Real Groove from 2006-2009, has contributed to radio programmes on bFM and Radio New Zealand and conducted a brief, unsuccessful foray into artist management.

Joe Nunweek has written about music for Craccum, Real Groove, 1972, and Volume and at some point basically resigned himself to hitting every branch on the way down as he fell off the tree of print media. He also writes for The Pantograph Punch and wrangles policy for a day job. Joe's mum bought him one of the inaugural NZ Music Month t-shirts from Hallensteins when he was in Year 9, because lord knows every vulnerable child at a new school needs a massive bullseye target on their chest. Character building!

Gareth Shute is the author of four books on NZ music and the arts. His first book, Hip Hop Music In Aotearoa, went on to win at the New Zealand book awards.

Brown's passing comes about a week after the Washington Post confirmed that the musician, considered the pioneer of Go-Go music, had been hospitalized with pneumonia.
Brown's 1970 hit, "Bustin' Loose," hit #1 on the MCA charts. The song was later sampled in the 2002 Nelly song, "Hot in Herre." He had recently postponed numerous shows due to his failing health." More soon.

ADDED:Washington Post obituary for Chuck Brown... “Bustin’ Loose” was “the one record I had so much confidence in,” Mr. Brown told The Post in 2001. “I messed with it for two years, wrote a hundred lines of lyrics and only ended up using two lines. . . . It was the only time in my career that I felt like it’s going to be a hit.”

It was Mr. Brown’s biggest single, but throughout the 1980s “We Need Some Money,” “Go-Go Swing” and “Run Joe” became local anthems, reinforced by radio support and the grueling performance schedule that put Mr. Brown on area stages six nights a week.

While rap music exploded across the country, go-go dominated young black Washington, with groups including Trouble Funk, Rare Essence and Experience Unlimited following in Mr. Brown’s footsteps..."

WATCH: July 2011 interview with Chuck Brown...

ADDED: From Stephen A Crockett Jr, WaPo... "In 1984, before Bryant St, NW would become a one way, I am a third grader in search of candy and I hear Chuck Brown’s go-go version of this song [I'm in the mood for love] blasting out of a blue Bonneville stuck at a traffic light. I slow walk up to the Sunbeam market so I can catch more of the song.

Light changes and the Bonneville bones out but the music is still in my head and it stays with me into the corner store. Later, I would run the whole way home trying desperately to hold the melody in my head. I asked my Dad about it, but he played a different version of the classic tune. I told him that it wasn’t it. “Oh, he said, knowingly. “That was Chuck.”

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

The Shihad documentary hits big screens tomorrow nationwide, looks bloody good from the trailer. The premiere is tonight in Wellington at the Embassy, but the director, Sam Peacocke, told the Dominion Post that "he had not been invited to speak at tonight's premiere, but would be there as a guest of Shihad lead singer Jon Toogood....

"....Peacocke was brought in to take over the reins of Shihad: Beautiful Machine at the start of last year after the original director, Graeme Tuckett, was fired [a week into directing].

Peacocke says he and producer Pacific Lightworks did not see eye to eye on aspects of the film, which profiles arguably New Zealand's biggest rock band.

"Since [editor] Cushla Dillon and I finished the edit I haven't really been involved in any of the post-production from then on. I can kind of see, I think, what Graeme may have found difficult."

Producer Grant Roa labelled Peacocke artistically exceptional but "sociably inept", and said the film had always been "purely" producer-driven. "Sam was brought in as a director for hire."

Roa said the director had in fact been invited to speak at the opening. Asked if there had been a lack of communication from producers, he said: "I think everyone is to blame but I'm not sure."

Roa reducing Peacocke's contribution to merely "A director for hire" is at odds with the official Shihad movie website where the producers extensively talk up them bringing in Peacocke, who already had a relationship with the band from directing music videos for them - "He used the trust he'd had gained and took the band out of their comfort zone and into a entirely unique space where questions couldn't be answered so automatically. This style produced a very genuine response, and from then on the story began to build in depth and honesty."

" [Producer Grant] Roa brushed aside claims of a behind the scenes spat between the producers and the director.

"You're always going to have some disagreements. Sam is exceptionally talented."

He said having conceived of the idea of the documentary he and the other producer, Laurence Alexander, had "boundaries we had put in place that we wanted to work within".

"Both Graeme [Tuckett] and Sam [Peacocke] nurtured that as much as they could. And like creatives, they tried to push the boundaries. That's what you do. That's the story. So as a producer you just tap it back into place now and again."

"... the name and work of Belita Woods going back to her ’60s sides for Ollie McLaughlin’s Moira label and ’70s work with the group Brainstorm (she had the lead vocals on “Loving is Really My Game” and “This Must Be Heaven”). No doubt, more have seen and heard her as a vocalist with George Clinton’s P-Funk aggregations from the 1990s up until recently."

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Some info from the APO on a very cool concert coming up at the end of May... : "Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra brings New Zealand Music Month to a dynamic close with a concert that unites the worlds of orchestral music and hip-hop.

The 31 May concert, dubbed ‘Remix the Orchestra: Full Orchestra Meets Hip-Hop’, is the culmination of five years of collaboration between the APO and leading hip-hop musicians who have worked together to mentor young artists, and who now appear together on one stage for the first time.

Joining the orchestra for the Auckland Town Hall concert are several of New Zealand’s leading hip-hop acts: Tyree (Smashproof), Frisko (aka Alphrisk, Deceptikonz) and hip-hop legend Ermehn (OMC, etc), one of the most respected artists on the local urban music scene. The three each perform a track from their impressive catalogues.

Spinning decks throughout is DJCXL (Ill Semantics), a former NZ DMC Champion whose new album Represent recently spent time in the national top 40 and reached as high as #4 on the NZ artists’ album chart.

The concert reaches beyond music, featuring dancers and graffiti crew FDKNS. The latter will create their art on tablet computers, with the work being projected on to screens."

Also worth checking, Scrimshire's recent single, grab it just for the LV remix that's a groover and a half. That EP is pay what you like. And there's a cool re-edit of Merry Clayton from Scrimshire over here.

Both Scrimshire and Hackney Colliery Band are playing live in London May 25, alongside United Vibrations and with DJ appearances from Jazzanova, Part-Time Heroes, Dom Servini and DJ Konvex. If you're in the region, get tickets now.

&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://scrimshire.bandcamp.com/album/everything-you-say"&amp;amp;amp;gt;Everything You Say by Scrimshire&amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;

The Top 40 album chart is out, Adele jumps to #1, and Homebrew drop down to #2. Mothers day bounce for Adele? [UPDATED: just been pointed out to me that Mothers Day sales bump was friday/saturday, and that will be counted in next week's chart, not this one]

The other Kiwi album in the top ten is Suzanne Prentice - imagine if Homebrew had been knocked from #1 by her.

Ah, never mind. Let's watch Homebrew bump into Neil and Sharon Finn on the street and try and get him to say "F#ck Dave Dobbyn"...

UPDATED from The Corner... Off the back of their triumphant debut at number one on the albums chart last week, Home Brew have opened up a pop up store in Ponsonby where they’re selling merch and copies of their debut album.
The Home Brew Take Over Store, next to Video Ezy, 160 Ponsonby Road. Monday 14 May – Sunday 20 May, 11am – 11pm daily

Joel and Nathan Haines in conversation with Mike Chunn was part of the recent Auckland Writers And Readers Festival (and it was free - yay!). The Composer's Life was the topic, but before the questions started, they played some music, with Nathan on sax, Joel on guitar, and their father Kevin joining them on double bass. The tune was one of Joel's called "Live at Wembley", which Nathan said they'd explain the title later, but never got round to it.

Mike Chunn tried to get Kevin to sit onstage with his sons but he wasn't keen, so Mike pointed out there was a glass of wine onstage for Kevin which Kevin leapt up and grabbed, then headed back to his seat in the audience.

Mike started off by asking Joel and Nathan what were their first musical memories? They mentioned names like Gino Vannelli, Stevie Wonder, Art Blakey, Bill Evans, whatever their father chose to put on... Nathan said "Dad was the dark overlord of the stereo."

They grew up in Beachhaven, and went to Northcote College - they got to go to LA as part of the school big band and play some gigs, including Disneyland. Later in the conversation, Mike asks if they were good at school or did they get into trouble. Nathan says we were good, Joel mutters about being bad, and their Dad chimes in with "They were very good, it all went bad later."

Mike asked about their first time onstage. Nathan recalled their earliest gigs were at the Jazz Festival run by Tommy Adderley, at the Sheraton (now the Langham). Their father was playing with them, and they played some of his numbers, which Nathan remembers as "ridiculously difficult tunes." And that he and Joel could barely play. As Mike noted, they didn't take the easy option and just play Summertime.

Mike asked what age were thay, and Nathan mentioned about 8 or 9. Mike jokingly suggested that maybe Kevin could be accused of child slave labour... Nathan says they started out playing at age 3 and 4, and he could read music by the time he started school.

Mike recalled the first Apra Silver Scrolls that featured artists covering the five finalists, and that Nathan and Joel and their band Freebass had played one of the covers, doing a Headless Chickens number is such a fashion that it was largely unrecognisable, and split the room. Murray Cammick told Mike later that night that half the room loved it, the other half hated it.

Talking about growing up, Nathan said that their mother was more artistic than their father, funnily enough. She was more from the visual side, their father more on the audio side.

Mike asked about playing with your head or your heart, and Joel talked about his time playing with Human Instinct, which he said is about heart - "sometimes in that band, people are playing different songs! So it's all about heart with them."

They play another song, the title track off Nathan's latest album, The Poet's Embrace. Nathan describes the album as a "Straight to two track, wonderful analog affair." After the song, Nathan says "That's the first time we've played that one."

Mike talks about Nathan's latest album, saying he pre-ordered it, and got it on his iTunes, and asks is Nathan okay with that? Nathan says yes, it's all music. He made the album to be played on vinyl, and says the 300 copies have almost all gone. But any format is okay with him.

Mike asks Joel about his involvement in synchronisation (writing for film, tv). He says he got his big break writing music for tv series Mercy Peak. Prior to that he'd done session work for Murray Grindley on ads and so on and was very interested in that area. He talked about writing for the screen - "To get it right, you've got to get inside the characters."

Joel says he really likes being part of a big machine where, if everyone gets it right, it becomes this incredible thing. Writing and recording music on his own at home suits him though he confesses "It drives my poor wife crazy!"

He says with his work "It's not about you, how well you are playing, it can be about the grading of a shot. I really like that. I never wanted to be a frontman."

They play one of Joel's film pieces, no song title given.

Mike talks about choosing music for his father's funeral recently, and plays a snippet of the song he chose, and asks if they recognise it. It's Joni Mitchell's Court and spark, as covered by Nathan on his album Music for Cocktail Lovers. Mike asks would it have been a better song if Joni had used that [Nathan's] arrangement? Nathan says no. The song was suggested by Murray Thom (executive producer and financial backer of the album), from Herbie Hancock's version.

Nathan talked about his former manager Matt Coleman talking with him when Nathan got back from the UK last year about his next album. Matt told Nathan "I''ve got this great idea, you should do an album covering classic NZ songs" [or words to that effect]. Nathan thought about it for 24 hours and said no.

Mike expressed surprise that Nathan had taken that long to decide against it, suggesting a minute's thought would have been a better length. Guessing Mike didn't think it was a good idea then. And this from the man who bought us Double J and Twice the T.

Mike asked an oddly-worded question about whether Nathan thought NZ was too small for him to sustain himself? Nathan said no, he was grateful for the support he had here and the audience he had built up. And the hanging question over this reply was why are you moving to the UK, then?

Nathan described his latest album as one where he decided to make the kind of album he wanted to make, and just not worry about pleasing an audience or whatever, and that it has turned out to be his most well-received album to date.

I'm not too sure why Nathan should be surprised that an album that aimed to be straight ahead jazz, which is a pretty conservative musical choice, would do well. Seems like a no brainer to me.

They close the session with another song, one of their early numbers, but again a lack of song titles. Nevertheless, a very entertaining hour of conversation and jazz. Thanks to all involved.

Nathan Haines is playing a show on May 18 at Devonport's newly restored Victoria Theatre, playing The Poet's Embrace in full, before he shifts to the UK in June. Details and booking here.

If there's a band that can preach passionately about the state of our society for hours on end, it's the Hallelujah Picassos. The five members have been key players on Auckland's music and social scene long enough to know what they're talking about when they call for unity in our community. With the release of their new EP, Gospel of the DNA Demon, a 13-track "genetic mix-up'' of styles and sounds, the Picassos manifesto is at the forefront again.

"lt's very important for us that the community that we live in right now shakes up and we start believing that the individual is worth something,'' says vocalist and guitarist Raudra Bayanaka, aka Harold aka Roland. "What we've seen in the last 15 years in the media and in the music is the deconstruction of the individual. For example, we had the grudge period where it was cool to be a loser, it was cool to be down and out, it was cool to talk about how fucked up your childhood was." Peter McLennan, keyboards and samples, picks up the thread.

"We've learnt that cynicism is a totally healthy way of thinking, which to me is extremely unconstructive.'' Johnny Pain, bass, agrees. ''It constrains people from solving problems. They wallow in trash culture and drown in self-pity. The thing is, no matter how bad you feel, there are ten million other people in exactly the same predicament, and you should take strength from the fact you're not alone,''

Continues Harold: "There's too much selfishness, too much 'fuck you, fuck you'. We've had enough of that. Evelybody's worth something again. We need unity. But the unity thing doesn't mean that everyone should be homogeneous. That's not the idea at all. You're supposed to salvage individuality. You can be wildly different and still be all pushing in the same direction.'' A bit like the Hallelujah Picassos, really.

[I remember the photographer for this article thought he had a great idea, of shooting us all with our shirts, off, then overlaying them. Catch was, Harold didn't want to take his shirt off.]

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Steve Cropper, the MGs guitarist, broke the news on his Facebook page at approximately 12:30AM Eastern time.

“Today I lost my best friend, the World has lost the best guy and bass player to ever live,” Cropper, his lifelong friend, wrote. “Duck Dunn died in his sleep Sunday morning May 13 in Tokyo Japan after finishing 2 shows at the Blue Note Night Club.” Source.

Booker T and the MGs were the house band at Stax and backed up Otis Redding, Rufus Thomas, Sam and Dave, Wilson Pickett and many more, as well as having their own hits with instrumentals like Green Onions, Time is Tight, and Melting Pot, a popular tune with early hiphop DJs.

A Miles Davis 1955 signed single has popped up on Trademe. Apparently the owners tried to list it on eBay but found that process to be "...a nightmare. Trademe need to give those fellas a lesson ".

"This is very rare indeed. It has been signed by all the band members who played on this album with Miles signing by doodling a trumpet and a caricature of him playing the trumpet. Signed by - Red Garland, piano, Phineaus Newborough (Philly Joe Jones), drums,Oscar Pettiford, bass

We think Miles has put MD on top of Oscars but not sure. The album cover is very faded on the front and some knuckle head has sellotaped the cover up, as you can see. The album is in very good condition and the company is Metronome from Sweden. The recorded songs are - A Gal in Calico and I Didn't." See Trademe. Starts at $990.

"Prize-winning Blue Smoke (2010) author Chris Bourke brings back to life the venues, sounds and changing dance fashions of the Auckland music scene – from the first cabarets and jazz bands of the 1920s featured at the Dixieland on Queen Street (now Real Groovy), to the arrival of rock ’n’ roll to Auckland in 1956.

The latter drew teenagers to the Trades Hall in Hobson Street at the same time that more sophisticated venues offering jazz combos, cabaret and groundbreaking liquor access were becoming established for adults.

Bourke has spent years searching out the rare archival audio recordings, photos and ephemera that vividly illustrate the sights and sounds of Auckland at play. Introduced by Josie McNaught."

"Brothers Nathan and Joel Haines are musicians and composers of note, each having carved out successful musical careers.

The sons of an accomplished bassist, the pair spent their formative years performing around Auckland and joined the group Freebass in the early 1990s.

Nathan, who has produced seven solo albums to date, has lived in both New York and London, where his musical career has been influenced by a range of other musical genres.

Joel meanwhile has an impressive list of composing credits to his name for feature films, television series and commercials and has worked with a myriad of Maori directors and artists, including traditional Maori instrument players. They speak with Mike Chunn about the composer’s life. Supported by APRA/AMCOS."

Friday, May 11, 2012

Hat tip to Dan News. 'The History of NZ Radio' through the eyes of the Radio Awards team (NSFW, contains swearing)... As Andrew Dubber noted on Twitter, "Frighteningly accurate. The real history of radio in Auckland in the 1980s, starring everyone as themselves: "

Strut have just released Fela Kuti, Live in Detroit 1986. "Previously unheard Fela Kuti live material. Need we really say more? We're extremely pleased to offer a document of the inimitable architect of Afrobeat, recorded shortly after his release from Nigerian prison. Fela Kuti Live In Detroit 1986 is out this week on 2xCD, 4xLP, and digital download." Go here to Strut's site for free download.

Official release of previously bootlegged concert from Fela's first North American tour with Egypt 80. The first album of official unreleased Fela music since his last studio album, 1992's Underground System.

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Today's NZ Herald Timeout entertainment section congratulates Homebrew on entering the album charts at number one - " Selling your album to every punter who came to a marathon 48 hour album release party was a savvy idea."

Except the cutoff for the charts is on Thursday. Meaning Homebrew's album was on sale for only two and a half days (iTunes on Tues, JB Hifi on Wed and others) and still hit number one. Those album sales at their album release party at the weekend will be counted this week, if they had organised to get them included and met the relevant criteria for chart returns.

UPDATED I have had it confirmed by Homebrew's distributor/label that they will be including album sales at the release party in the chart returns this week.

Marley, the new documentary on Bob Marley currently doing the rounds of film festivals overseas, and will hit NZ shores in July, as part of the NZ Intl Film Festivals, which start in Auckland on July 19. It will also be the first time that the half a billion Facebook users worldwide can download and pay for a film at the same time it is in cinemas.

From the trailer you can see bits of footage connected with NZ, like a snippet of Dylan Taite's interview with Marley, and a shot of Marley walking out onstage at Western Springs in 1979.

A lot of obituaries for Adam Yauch are resorting to quoting one lyric of his, from Sureshot, to supposedly show how he redeemed himself for his earlier misogynist lyrics. But he wasn't just one lyric.

When I went back this past week and listened thru the Beasties catalog, one of the many great lyrics that stuck out for me was the next line in Sureshot after the one quoted below - it went Well you can say I'm 20-something and I should be slacking, but I'm working harder than ever, and you could calll it macking...

I remember when I first heard that line, I was a 20-something, and the media had taken to labelling young creative bohemian types as slackers, cos we didn't work a regular job - we were doing half a dozen jobs, not all for money either. I knew a ton of people like that in AKLD in the mid 90s. Hearing that lyric reinforced that it was ok to do that, it WAS work. And you looked at The Beastie Boys, with their record label, and clothing line, and magazine, and went, yeah, I am working harder than ever....

"...from the string of memorials that have come out since his death, one could get the impression that a single stanza came to define his career, from the group's 1994 track "Sure Shot":

I wanna say a little something that's long overdueThe disrespect to women has got to be through. To all the mothers and the sisters and the wives and friends, I wanna offer my love and respect to the end

For sure, Yauch was a complex person. During different parts of his life he was a rapper, a director, a bassist, a basketball fan, a father, a philanthropist, and a Buddhist. At some point after the Beastie Boys blew up he began to passionately and publicly embrace a number of liberal causes.

He also disavowed his previous, virulent homophobia; in other words, he grew up -- something that is not particularly profound for rappers or anyone else. Yes, Yauch should be applauded for taking stock of himself and changing his content. (And perhaps for encouraging others to do the same thing.) But this stance and the above lyric are not Yauch's legacy. Rather, his legacy is his role in one of the most important groups in hip-hop history. And the trio's most important music is, in large measure, their early material -- the stuff they released before "Sure Shot" -- warts and all.

The desire to put Yauch into a socio-political context is understandable for obituary writers. But to imply that this lyric somehow epitomized Yauch's career -- or that his evolution will be what he is ultimately be remembered for -- is an attempt at revisionism.

If we've decided to judge rappers primarily on how delicately they treat the issue of gender relations, than we can go ahead and throw out the majority of Biggie and Tupac's greatest works, for starters.

Again, this is not a defense of misogynist lyrics in hip-hop. But to say that much of what made Yauch great was his disavowal of his randy "alpha male stuff" is to miss the point; it is not controversial to call Licensed To Ill and Paul's Boutique the group's most important works. (Ill Communication is a dope album, but it didn't change rap like those other two.)

Remember, it's okay to think albums are amazing even if you think some of the sentiments expressed on them are deplorable. That's true of hip-hop as a whole."

Ghostface Killah returns to NZ for shows in June, taking in Christchurch (June 5) and Wellington for the first time (June 6) and revisiting Auckland (June 7). I saw his previous show here in 2009, his first time in NZ - it was a wicked night, he absolutely rocked it. He's also bringing Killah Piest from the Wu Tang collective as part of his touring crew. And Chch and Welli get locals @Peace in support, which is well cool.

"On stages across the globe, his urgent delivery, dense fascinating slang, raw jokes and emotive stream-of consciousness-narratives have delighted audiences for two decades. This June, Ghostface Killah embarks on his second ever New Zealand tour, taking in debut performances in Wellington and Christchurch. This is a rare opportunity to witness the talent described by Q Magazine as, "one of raps finest storytellers" and praised by MTV and About.com as one of the greatest MCs of our era."

June 7, Powerstation, Auckland
Tickets available from Ticketmaster www.ticketmaster.co.nz. Limited early birds $50+bf, and then 65+bf. Local line up TBC.

There's a few fan reviews of his last show in NZ on that Ticketmaster page of his last visit, best quote ... "I have to say this was the best show by a Wu-Tang member so far in NZ.... a real treat and a definite representation of WUTANG..."

Now, I better go buy a copy of it this week so it stays at number one, aye. Roll on payday.

ADDED Michael Upton (Jet Jaguar, Montano) has written a great piece called All Home Brew's producers' other releases, including Christoph El Truento, Si Res, Soul Chef, Fire and Ice (David Dallas) and more.

Bill Brewster is visiting our shores for the first time, DJing at Ink Bar on May 26. The night before, he's giving a seminar at Red Bull Studio, 13 Hargreaves St, Freemans Bay, at 730pm, called Last Night a DJ Saved My Life, also the title of an excellent book he co-authored with Frank Broughton. It's essential reading for any DJ. He's definitely got something to say that's worth hearing.

Brewster is a founding resident DJ of Fabric, and author of several books, including How To DJ (Properly), and The Record Players: DJ Revolutionaries. Check out DJHistory.com for more on Brewster and his great writing.

From Resident Advisor: " One minute he’s rocking the roof off at Fabric with his tough and funky big-room underground house; the next he’s charming the pants off a more intimate crowd with everything from dubby disco, funk and hip-hop to trip hop and Latin batucadas. Armed with a sensitivity and sense of occasion that few DJs possess Bill Brewster knows how to work a crowd in the best possible sense.

Originally a chef, a football pundit (co-editor of fanzine When Saturday Comes) and record collector, Bill began DJing in in the late 80s, but he cut his teeth playing ‘Low Life’ warehouse parties in Harlem and the East Village – he moved to NYC to manage DMC’s US operation – and anyone hearing Bill today can see how these New York ‘roots’ shine through. For eclecticism, surprises, amazing unique music and sheer long-haul dedication to the dancefloor, Bill’s your man.

His other life is as a writer. Together with long-term pal Frank Broughton, Bill is author of the definitive history of DJing, Last Night A DJ Saved My Life, and has contributed his acid Grimsby wit and encyclopaedic knowledge of music to just about every dance rag there is, not to mention The Guardian, Independent and Mail On Sunday. The Brewster-Broughton double act unveiled their latest hit in 2002 with the uniquely sardonic DJ manual How To DJ (Properly).

He’s an industry insider, having brought Twisted records to the UK and launched his own highly successful deep house label Forensic. In his spare time he is often found in the studio, either with Fat Camp partner, Theo Noble, re-editing old disco, funk and rock records; or producing original music. They run a small edit label Disco Sucks.

As his hero Kid Creole would say, 'Annie I'm not your daddy.'

WHAT THE PRESS SAY ABOUT BILL
“What Bill Brewster doesn’t know about disc jockeying is probably not worth knowing.” Jockey Slut
“One of Fabric’s heroes is behind the decks for one of his multi-genre embracing sessions. It’s going to be a late one.” Metro
“The greatest book ever written about dance music.” Daily Mirror on Last Night A DJ Saved My Life

Chuck D talking about the Beastie Boys, rock n roll, and Bette Midler, and sitting with two great songwriters, Carole King and Smokey Robinson at the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, and then bugging out about it on Twitter - "I tweeted my ass off!"

Chuck calls out urban radio for failing black music in America right now, it's some straight talk. He says Public Enemy got on the Licensed to Ill tour in 87 cos as replacements for Fishbone, and cos they were cheap.

"...In an industry struggling to stay afloat, Numero is an anomaly: It’s a growing and profitable record company. Dedicated to unearthing lost musical treasures—primarily in the realms of soul, funk, and gospel—the eight-year-old label has amassed legions of devoted fans, including rocker Robert Plant, author Michael Chabon, and actress Zooey Deschanel. Numero, which grossed more than $1 million in 2011, has a grand ambition that belies its modest size: to be the world’s greatest reissue label.

It’s fitting that a record label that relies on serendipitous discoveries was founded by chance. Ken Shipley, 34, a former talent rep for Salem (Mass.)-based reissue label Rykodisc, met Rob Sevier, 33, whose résumé includes a stint at Merge Records, at a Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings concert in 2002.

Around the same time, longtime advertising executive Tom Lunt, 60, who had previously logged time at record chain Sound Distributors, bumped into Shipley at a record store. Then they crossed shopping carts in a grocery store. Following those random encounters, the three discussed the idea that became Numero. In an effort to retain complete control, the co-founders decided not to solicit outside investors, instead relying on $23,000 of Lunt’s personal savings to get things going...." Read more